Q&A: A Student’s Experience with Transportation in Fort Collins

Getting around town in the heart of Fort Collins can be a tricky task. When it comes to public conversation as to how transportation services can be improved, city leaders typically only focus on the opinions of their voting constituency.

However, Colorado State University students play an important role in Fort Collins’ transportation as well (mainly because they’re most dependent on it), and their perspective is needed in the conversation on getting around Fort Collins. I sat down with Zane Bamesberger, a fifth-year senior at CSU, in the Oval to discuss his experiences with travel in Fort Collins.

Q(Sean): So… how do you currently get to campus, Zane?

A(Zane): I almost always take the bus, unless I miss it. Then it’s some form of bicycling to connect to the nearest bus stop.

Q: Okay, and where are you usually coming from when you travel to campus?

A: So I’m at Drake and Shields, I have a place over there, and the bus runs by very near where I live.

Q: When you first moved here, what were your transportation needs?

A: When I first moved here, I lived in Loveland with my girlfriend, and we just commuted. We lived with some friends at the time and we moved to Loveland because of the U+2 law and we just shared a car… we would just go into campus regardless of when our classes started. Like if I had a class that started at 12 and my girlfriend had a class that started at 8 then too bad, I just sucked it up…

But then when I moved to Fort Collins I lived in Ramblewood [Apartments] for a while, and it had its own shuttle line. So I had never really ridden a bus until two years after I got [to CSU].

Q:So how difficult was it to get to campus in that first year coming from Loveland?

A: It kinda sucked. We parked at the University Center for the Arts because we didn’t have a parking pass. But after that it’s always been the bus.

Q: So how often would you say you go downtown in Fort Collins?

A: I’d say very often.

Q: And how do you usually get there?

A: It’s about 50–50 driving or connecting to the MAX down there.

Q: How convenient would you say the MAX is to you if someone asked if you like the service?

A: It’s great. I love that it’s a straight shot and pretty time-efficient because it has its own road. It’s great that it has a bus stop at every 10 minutes.

Q: Do you think that if there was a MAX route that didn’t have its own protected lane like the Mason one has, do you think it would be as efficient as the MAX or another bus?

A: I don’t know, but I would at least assume not because I know the other buses really struggle with traffic and the train and everything.

Q: So you were around Fort Collins before the MAX was installed. Have you seen any change in traffic either in the amount or type of traffic since it’s been installed?

A: You know, I can’t really say. I know that whenever I ride the MAX I notice it’s always really packed, so I think a lot of people are getting used to it, but as far as noticing traffic differences I don’t know.

I would almost say that it’s easier to find parking in Old Town now, but I don’t know if that’s me noticing it because I drive down there less now or because it really is easier to find parking downtown now.

Q: You say you bike a lot. How does that compare to getting around in a car in downtown and Campus West?

A: It’s a lot quicker. There are a lot of designated bike lanes and stuff, you don’t have to stop for as many stoplights or stop signs and anything like that, so you can bypass a lot of the traditional traffic.

Q: How would you describe Fort Collins traffic to someone from out of town as to how it affects your travel?

A: Well I had a friend tell me once that his friend who used to work for [Traffic Operations] who said that supposedly Fort Collins times its lights in a way that is frustrating to drivers to encourage them to get on their bikes more. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I would believe it. Because even though it sounds ridiculous I could sure as hell believe it. Like it seems like lights change going away from you, like green-green-green, but here it’s going towards you. So I don’t know if they do, but the traffic is really bad.